Life saving apparatus for boats



Jan. 30, 1962 G. A. sumo LIFE SAVING APPARATUS FOR BOATS Filed May 28, 1957 INVENTOR.

ee/yew? 521K2 0 ATTORNEYS United States Patent C) 3,018,494 LIFE SAVING APPARATUS FOR BOATS George A. Guido, 1148 Cannon St., Syracuse, NY. Filed May 28, 1957, Ser. No. 662,259 1 Claim. (C1. 914) This invention relates to a life saving apparatus and is particularly directed to a life saving apparatus for use with boats to prevent drowning of occupants of the boats.

A primary object of the present invention is to provide a simple but extremely effective life saving apparatus, which can be dependably and easily employed by an occupant of a boat so as to prevent drowning and so as to permit a person overboard in the water to pull himself back to the boat.

Another important object of the present invention is to provide an elongated chain, which is formed from suitable rust-proof and sturdy material, and which is adapted to have one end anchored to the boat and the other end secured to the body of the person, so that if a person falls overboard, he will remain in proximity to the boat and will be able to pull himself back into the boat. In this regard, it is preferred that the chain be formed with large links, that are of a width and length so as to permit the hands of a user to be inserted into the links and to securely grip them to permit the user to pull himself in hand over hand fashion back to the boat.

Another important object of the present invention is to provide spring means in association with the chain, whereby the excess chain is kept in a normally retracted position, thereby permitting the user to walk around the boat, without the chain interferring with his movement.

Another important object of this invention is to provide a simple, compact and inexpensive life saving device, which can be easily employed by occupants of the boat, without interferring with their normal movements in the boat and which can be dependably employed for the purpose of preventing the drowning of the persons.

The foregoing and ancillary objects are attained by this invention, the preferred embodiments of which are set forth in the following description and illustrated in the accompanying drawing, wherein:

FIGURE 1 is a view in perspective of a portion of a boat and showing in detail the use of the life saving device of this invention;

FIGURE 2 is a fragmentary side elevational view of the life saving apparatus;

FIGURE 3 is a fragmentary elevational view, showing the spring means, which is provided for maintaining the chain in a normally retracted unobstructing position;

FIGURE 4 is a detailed elevational view, showing the means for attaching the end of the springs to the links of the chain;

FIGURE 5 is a fragmentary elevational view, showing the springs extended; and

FIGURE '6 is a side elevational view of a modified form of this invention, wherein the chain is provided with a covering for the end portion and encircles the waist of the user.

Referring now more particularly to the drawing, and initially to FIGURE 1, the numeral generally designates a conventional boat to which the life saving apparatus 12 is attached. The life saving apparatus 12 includes an elongated chain 14, which may be of suitable length and which is formed from suitable rust-proof ma- Patented Jan. 30, 1962 terial. One end 16 of the chain is provided with a hook 18, which is adapted to be attached to a keeper element 20 that is secured to the boat. The keeper element 2% provides an anchoring means on the boat to which the end 16 is securedly afiixed. The opposite end portion 22 of the chain is adapted to encircle the waist of a user 24, as shown in FIGURE 1, and the end of the chain is provided with a hook 26, as shown in FIGURE 2, whereby the end portion 22 is securely fastened to the waist of the user. It is to be particularly noted, as shown in detail in FIGURE 2, that the links 28 of the chain are of such a width and length that the users hands .30 can be easily inserted therein, thereby providing a secure grip.

In the use of the apparatus, as shown in FIGURES 1 and 2, the end portion 22 of the chain is encircled around the waist of the user and securely attached thereto by means of the fastening hook 26. The user has the chain attached to his waist, during all the time that he is in the boat, so that in the event that he should be cast overboard, the chain will prevent his body from moving any great distance away from the boat. The user, by gripping the links 28 with his hands, can pull himself in hand over hand fashion back to the boat.

For the convenience of the user, in having the chain attached to his person during all the time that he is occupying the boat, it is preferred to provide spring means 32, as shown in FIGURE 3, for the purpose of maintaining the chain in a normally retracted and unobstructing position. The spring means 32, includes coil springs 34, that have opposing clip ends 36, which are adapted to be clipped onto selected and spaced apart links of the chain.

' As shown in FIGURE 3, the springs will bring the selected lengths of the chain together and, thereby, maintain the chain in a retracted position, adding to the ease of movement of the user.

As shown in FIGURE 6, the end portion 22 of the chain may be provided with a suitable covering 38, so as to make the chain more comfortable around the body of the user.

While the preferred embodiments of this invention have been described and illustrated herein, other forms may be realized as come within the scope of the claim.

I claim:

A life saving device for use in attachment to a boat comprising an elongated chain having opposing ends, one of said ends having means for detachably securing the chain to a boat, the other end portion of the chain being adapted to encircle the waist of an occupant of the boat with the end thereof having means for attachment to the chain to secure the end portion around the Waist of the user, said chain having links of a length and width to permit the entire hand of the user to be inserted therein so that the links can be gripped in hand over hand fashion to enable a user in the water to pull himself back to the boat.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 403,591 Ingram May 21, 1889 2,267,038 Mix Dec. 23, '1941 2,670,951 Lucky Mar. 2, 1954 FOREIGN PATENTS 112,354 Great Britain Jan. 10', 1918 

